SOAS University of London was looking to refurbish its Student Union space, with updated designs reflective of the organisation’s diverse student body.
Here, Story Design were consulted to draw up the interior plans, using Forbo Flooring Systems’ Marmoleum and Tessera collections to help elevate the space.
SOAS was first founded in 1916 as the School of Oriental Studies, before expanding with the addition of the African Linguistics and Phonetics Department in 1932. Since then, the organisation has continued to represent an internationally diverse student body from a range of backgrounds.
As part of a refurbishment to the group’s existing spaces, Kenton Simons, Creative Director at Story Design, said: “I was approached by SOAS to help them revamp some of their admin spaces, as well as other rooms used for music, arts and activities, being granted relatively free rein to be creative with my colour and design choices.
“I was very keen on reflecting the diversity within the university, so I chose a vibrant colour palette to represent the range of cultures and backgrounds at SOAS. We also had the idea of creating an abstract globe design within the reception area, which reinforced the idea of its students being from across the world and helped to add a real focal point to the area. This was accompanied by a wall graphic detailing the history of SOAS.”
To create this globe design, Forbo’s precise Aquajet cutting service was utilised by Kenton, with a bespoke flooring design created. Kenton explained: “As we wanted the globe design to be on the floor itself, I chose Forbo’s Marmoleum Cocoa and had it created using the manufacturer’s water cutting technology. This ended up being very effective and the design and install phases were really easy, ensuring a smooth transition overall.”
Marmoleum Cocoa was specified for the majority of the flooring space. Kenton commented: “I really liked the look of Forbo’s Marmoleum Cocoa, with the cocoa shells in the flooring adding a unique touch to the product, as well as it being a sustainable and durable solution. The Meringue colourway was chosen for the main lobby and corridors – a very minimal and contemporary design, from which I could then build upon with other fixtures in the rooms. The Milk Chocolate colourway was installed across the reception area and into the adjoining corridor.
“From here, I added some other accents using Marmoleum Walton in the Terracotta and Rosemary Green designs. I had these cut into a circle pattern in the centre of the common room, helping to create a nice eye-catching centre for the room, as well as forming part of the narrative of togetherness and embracing culture.”
As well as its attractive designs, Marmoleum’s sustainability credentials were a key reason for its specification, with Kenton saying: “Sustainability was extremely important to SOAS and myself, with Marmoleum one of my go-to solutions for this exact reason. It’s made using up to 98% natural raw materials and contains 43% recycled content by mass. Not only this, but its independently certified as Climate Positive (carbon negative) from cradle to gate, without offsetting, meaning every square metre of Marmoleum installed removes 663 grams of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Additionally, the Marmoleum Cocoa solution contains cocoa husks, upcycled from the chocolate industry – a further environmental saving.”
Forbo’s Tessera Struktur 1 carpet tile collection was also installed on the project, used across the office spaces in the Mossa, Flamma, Bla and Rosa colourways. Kenton commented: “I really like Forbo’s Tessera carpet tiles as they’re robust and durable, with the Tessera Struktur 1 range available in a range of complimentary colours to the Marmoleum I’d specified. Given the application, I knew I needed a hard-wearing solution and this range being a microtuft pile tile made it ideal.”
The space was officially handed over to the school in September 2023, with positive feedback from the Students Union and student body themselves. In fact, the University and SOAS were so impressed by the work that they commissioned Kenton for further refurbishments, where he again specified Forbo flooring.
Kenton concluded: “This was an enjoyable project to work on – I wanted to give the students a space they felt was their own and had some element of personality and culture. I came up with the narrative for the space quite early on and SOAS agreed with my vision.
“I’ve used Forbo for years now and have no hesitation in recommending them for other projects; the products are tried and tested and have stood up well when I last visited the building. Forbo do a great job of keeping its colour offering up to date, something which proved very useful for this project.”
